Without question, this will be the deepest, most talented team that Canada has ever put forward, even if they're somewhat lacking in experience. Thompson is the only significant omission (due to his ongoing contract situation with Cleveland), and that's at Canada's deepest position.

I think the guys who are a lock for the team are:
Olynyk
Powell
Bennett
Nicholson

Wiggins

Joseph
Murray

Stauskas, Sacre and Ejim are near locks, in my opinion. And Heslip should be on the team given his ability to take over games... I think you need that in a format like the FIBA Americas. Plus we aren't really deep at the guard position. Bhullar is a tough call... we saw in the Pan Am games how his presence can completely alter the complexion of a game, but I think that advantage decreases exponentially as competition level increases. I think Sacre is a more likely inclusion than Bhullar, and a roster with both is possible, too. I think Murray's inclusion in the list means that Kentucky is allowing him to participate long enough for it to be worthwhile, although there's a chance Murray must leave the team before the medal round.

Doornekamp and English are the vets, but Doornekamp looks likely to miss given all the other frontcourt options. Hanlan and Scrubb are the two other longshots, though if Murray can't stay for the whole tournament, another guard becomes more important.

I love the perimeter-spacing options on this team. You could in theory go about 8 players deep before you find a guy who is not a good 3-point shooter. Lineups like Olynyk/Nicholson/Wiggins/Stauskas/Joseph and Powell/Bennett/Ejim/Heslip/Murray are going to be matchup nightmares. Throw in Sacre and Bhullar (a matchup nightmare himself) and expectations should be very high.

This team should be able to finish top 2 and qualify directly for the Olympics. Failure to finish top 5 and qualify for next summer's qualifying tournament would be a disaster for the program. That said, this isn't going to be an easy tournament by any means.

Brazil is already guaranteed a spot in the Olympics, and their team that won gold at the Pan Ams is almost identical to the one they'll be fielding here (my understanding is that if they finish top 2, then the third place team would get an Olympic berth). Mexico has home court advantage and a couple solid players in Ayon and Gutierrez. Argentina will also be very strong, missing Ginobili but with Scola and Nocioni, as well as international ball standout Campazzo.

Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic (who finished 4th at the Pan Am games) are both wildcards, capable of upsetting more talented teams. Venezuela also has the potential, but with Vasquez - probably their best player - out this summer, they'll be in tough to even make next summer's qualifier.

The unofficial warmup tournament - the Tuto Marchand Cup - starts on the 18th, and then the FIBA Americas starts August 18 in Puerto Rico, and then the FIBA Americas tournament starts August 31 in Mexico City.

edit: I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention that the women's team punched their ticket to Rio in dominating fashion, running roughshod over the opposition at the FIBA Americas. It'll be tough for them to medal as the US, Australia, and several EU teams are likely to be the medal favorites, but they should certainly take a lot of confidence from this.

Canada sweeps the Tuto Marchand Cup, beating Argentina, Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Dominican Republic, and hardly ever trailing in the whole tournament. But all of the teams including Canada were obviously holding a lot back for the Americas tournament. Scrubb did a lot to make a case, which is key because Murray's not going to be playing. Olynyk is struggling with an injury, so they're going to need to keep his minutes light. Powell and Ejim were a couple of the standout roleplayers, and will probably play a key role in the Americas teams.

Win over Venezuela was really key, and Canada won it pretty handily. Some pretty cheap and dirty plays by Venezuela though, especially on taking down Powell hard while he was in the air. Win against PR today and they're in great shape going into the medal round. Their 3-point shooting was awful the first two games (at least from everyone who was not Brady Heslip), but really came around yesterday, hopefully they can keep that going, because when they force defenders to cover them out to the perimeter, it really opens up a lot of cutting to the basket plays.

I thought they played extremely well today, they weathered PR's push in the first half, and then just destroyed them in the 3rd. The depth is so noticeably better than any other team they've played... they can put out an entire second unit (Scrubb, Heslip, Ejim, Nicholson, Sacre) far superior to any other second unit in this tournament, or mix those guys in with the starters.

I'm particularly impressed with how Olynyk looks this tournament. The high-tempo game really gives him a chance to showcase his ability to run the floor in transition, and pass well. He got abused a bit by Scola in that opening game, but otherwise his defense and rebounding has been solid.

I thought they played extremely well today, they weathered PR's push in the first half, and then just destroyed them in the 3rd. The depth is so noticeably better than any other team they've played... they can put out an entire second unit (Scrubb, Heslip, Ejim, Nicholson, Sacre) far superior to any other second unit in this tournament, or mix those guys in with the starters.

I'm particularly impressed with how Olynyk looks this tournament. The high-tempo game really gives him a chance to showcase his ability to run the floor in transition, and pass well. He got abused a bit by Scola in that opening game, but otherwise his defense and rebounding has been solid.

Me too. For a 7-footer the guy can move and can dribble the ball. He is very mobile for a tall guy. I am very happy with the team but I think Doornekamp and Ejim can be replace by Tristan Thompson and another NBA player like Ennis if they qualify for the Olympics. Triano have the luxury of having to put the 2nd unit and not lose a beat so far.

I'd still keep Ejim until they have a better bench wing defender... they don't need a guy who can create offence off the bench at the SF spot, they need a guy who can come in and take the toughest PF/SF/SG assignment, get some rebounds, and defer to the better scorers, which Ejim can do.

Backup PG is going to be the most interesting battle for next summer... Scrubb has looked really good as a backup here, Murray looked great at the Pan Ams, and Ennis is potentially better than either of those guys when healthy. Good problem to have.

My favorite thing about about this team right now... every guy there has at least three Olympic cycles in him (2016, 2020, 2024). Some may still be playing at a high level in 2028. Mix in Justin Jackson, Rowan Barrett, and some guys who might still be in elementary school, and there's a pretty big window to do something special.

I think Jamal Murray would have been on this team if he didn't have to go to school at Kentucky. The team needs someone like Jamal Murray to create offence, Cory Joseph and Phil Scrubb can't create offence like Jamal Murray can and I think it hurts the offence sometimes.

There is also a big game tonight at 7:30 MT (don't take my word for it) against the host Mexicans, who have yet to lose a game. I think Canada should be able to pull out a win with a deeper and talented roster, but if you have a chance I'd try to watch it. Should be a fun game with lots of loud Mexican fans.

As someone who has followed the program for a long time, I still can't believe we start an all NBA lineup and still have legitimate NBA players coming off the bench. We've come a long way and the future is very bright. I like what I've seen so far this tournament minus Scola running wild (which as a Raps fan I still like seeing) and really believe we will qualify for Rio even if it's not through this tournament. Now if only we can get Thon Maker citizenship....

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As someone who has followed the program for a long time, I still can't believe we start an all NBA lineup and still have legitimate NBA players coming off the bench. We've come a long way and the future is very bright. I like what I've seen so far this tournament minus Scola running wild (which as a Raps fan I still like seeing) and really believe we will qualify for Rio even if it's not through this tournament. Now if only we can get Thon Maker citizenship....

I remember the days of Sam Delembert pissing off Leo Rautins because he wanted more touches, while Steve Nash didn't play because they fired Triano. Now we are probably favourites to finish top 2 and qualify for Rio, all this without arguably our best post player in Tristan Thompson, who is only holding out for contract reasons. Unbelievable.

The addition of Steve Nash and Rowan Barrett have made players want to play for the Canadian national team again. Its been a treat to watch them from the Pan Am games to this point in time.